August is a prime month for bass fishing, offering anglers a unique challenge as the summer heat pushes bass into specific patterns. Understanding these patterns and adjusting your strategy can make all the difference in landing those trophy bass, or at least not going home skunked.
August bass fishing can still catch a big bite! – kayakfishingfocus.com
1. Early Morning and Late Evening Bites
During August, bass tend to avoid the midday heat, becoming most active during the cooler parts of the day. Target the early morning and late evening hours when the water is cooler, and the bass are more likely to be feeding aggressively. Look for shallow areas with plenty of cover like weed beds, lily pads, or fallen trees.
2. Focus on Deeper Water During the Day
As the sun climbs higher, bass retreat to deeper, cooler waters. Utilize deep-diving crankbaits, Texas-rigged worms, or jigs to reach these bass. Drop-offs, ledges, and submerged structures are key areas to focus on when the sun is high. Most of the time bass anglers are not fishing deep enough in the summer. A great place to start on a highland reservoir is 15-20 feet deep and adjust from there.
3. Choose the Right Bait
In August, natural baits that mimic the bass’s local forage are most effective. Soft plastic worms, crawfish imitations, and shad-like crankbaits are excellent choices. Don’t be afraid to experiment with colors; sometimes a slight change can make a big difference. Generally, bass will chase baits early and late, but during the day they want a slower presentation.
4. Stay Patient and Persistent
August can be tough, with bass sometimes seeming elusive. Patience is key—stay focused, keep moving, and try different spots and techniques. The reward of landing a big summer bass makes the effort worthwhile. Maintain appropriate expectations while bass fishing in August. It’s going to be tougher than in spring, but you can do it!
5. Consider Night Fishing
If you’re up for a new challenge, consider night fishing for bass. As the temperature drops, bass become more active, and night fishing can yield some of the biggest catches of the season. Use dark-colored baits that create a silhouette against the moonlight for the best results. Plastic worms and jigs are my go-to for night bass fishing.
Final Thoughts
Bass fishing in August is all about adapting to the conditions, and not giving up if the bite is tough. By targeting the right times of day, focusing on deeper water, and choosing the right baits, you can increase your chances of success. Embrace the summer heat and get out on the water—the bass are waiting!
This year’s edition of the NWA NSKA Road Runner had one of the largest areas in-bounds in several years. With a 55 mile radius in play, the Jackson Safety Systems Road Runner meant kayak anglers had more than 100 public water options to choose from for the day! Conventional wisdom was that the May event would yield bigger totals than the heat of the summer – did that come true?
Jacob Wilkie’s 22″ beast for Big Bass.
Tournament Results
Being a 10 fish event, it’s a little difficult to evaluate the overall fishing vs an average NSKA NWA event. We do have the last couple of years for a comparison, but as mentioned above this one was in July and not May. In 2023 the average Fish Per Angler (FPA) was 9.06 in 2023, and in 2024 it was 8.02 FPA. First three places in 2023 were 170.75, 170.50, and 155 – how did that compare to this year’s event?
Kyle Long took first place with 173.25, Dwain Batey was second with 170.75, and Jake Simmons third with 166.00 on the day. Big Bass was a 22.00 monster caught by Jacob Wilkie. He caught in on Little Sugar Creek on a fluke, and on a lightweight rod it was quite a battle!
So, overall, May 2024 gets the slight edge over July of 2023.
The Top Ten Finishers:
Kyle Long – 173.25
Dwain Batey – 170.75
Jacob Simmons – 166.00
Josh Landreth – 164.00
Jason Kincy – 160.00
John Hall – 157.75
Andrew Newsom – 157.50
Tyler Zengerle – 157.25
Levi Schneider – 157.00
Jacob Wilkie – 151.75
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Angler Roundtable
The top finishing anglers share their secrets of how they did it on tournament day. Thank you to Kyle Long, Dwain Batey, Jake Simmons and Josh Landreth for sharing with us!
1) Where did you go to fish and why?
Kyle – I went to Pumpback. I love that place so much. I know it’s been pretty bad but I also remember what it’s like when it’s good so I wanted to take the risk. I hadn’t prefished at all so it was 100% a gut feeling call. I was prepared to move if it didn’t work out but I didn’t have to.
Dwain – I started at Siloam Springs City Lake, no surprise there. I had plans to move midday to another lake, but by that time I was already too tired to move so I just kept grinding it out.
Jake – I really wanted to go to Spavinaw but I just never had a chance to get over there and get a permit so I wound up at Pumpback which is just five minutes from the house.
Josh – I went to Siloam City Lake. I had pre-fished there about 10 days prior to the event and had 173″ with two dinks in less than four hours. I also pre-fished Spavinaw and had a great day there too, but it was a long drive. I knew I’d kick myself if Siloam produced the winner and I didn’t try, even though I was worried about not being able to find 10.
2) What were some of your main baits and techniques that performed for you?
Kyle – Spinnerbait was the only thing I could get bit on early. After the shad spawn was over though, it kinda went pretty dead. Later in the day, the wacky worm on steeper “bluffier” type banks got me two huge culls.
Dwain – I caught most of my fish on a topwater, and a few pitching, and late in the day when everything was slow I found a cull or two with a wacky rig.
Jake – I started off with a buzzbait and had a bunch of blowups but they just never would get it, I switched to a fluke and that’s what things took off. I caught them early working it right on the top of the water, as the day went on I had to fish it deeper in the water column.
Josh – I caught all my fish on either a chatterbait or shaky head rigged with a senko style worm, both in practice and during the event. Exactly like Dwain said, I had planned to fish until mid-morning and then leave if things weren’t going great. I expected to catch quality, but didn’t know if I could get enough bites. The day was kind of the opposite. I caught 5-6 small fish early, but wasn’t finding the quality.
3) What was the key fish you caught and talk a bit about that catch.
Kyle – I had a good bag already but I had a few 14’s I wanted to get rid of. It had been several hours between good bites but I saw a fish blow up on something in front of me. I tossed a wacky worm in there and let it soak for a while. It finally bit and that clued me into slowing down which got me three other big bites later in the day.
Dwain – I caught my key fish on a topwater very early and it’s always good to knock out a kicker really early in the day for confidence.
Jake – My key fish was the first one I caught, it gave me confidence in a fluke and was my first fluke fish ever.
Josh – At about 10:00, I was trying to decide whether to stay or go, and I caught a 17.75″ on a chatterbait. After that, I slowed way down in the same area with the shaky head and caught a 20″ within minutes off the same patch of grass and filled my limit from there. It was a cool bite too. When I set the hook, the fish took off into the grass, pulling drag. Fun bite! I didn’t get a bite for the last two hours.
4) In retrospect, was there a bait or technique you should have used?
Kyle – In retrospect, I don’t think I would have done one thing different. It was a magical day and I had a blast all day long.
Dwain – I didn’t fail to utilize any bait or technique, but I did have some issues with getting fish in the kayak, I lost quite a few fish that would have helped me significantly, most of them very early so they didn’t seem nearly as significant at the time but later on they were sorely missed at the end of the day. I usually have to analyze why I lose fish and try to adjust something, rod, line size, drag, hook or bait choice to improve for next time. But honestly I don’t think any of the fish I lost were due to equipment or technique, just how the fish were biting funny that day and after my first two events I’m more than happy to finish up on the podium.
Jake – My regret comes from not spending enough time on the water in general. I lost a 7lber early because I didn’t realize how hard I have to set the hook with a fluke. I lost a 17+ right after and learned pretty quick!
Josh – In hindsight, I should have changed things up. Another angler was fishing a flat and caught a few good fish in the afternoon. I just didn’t know how to do that and didn’t want to invade his area. But going two hours to end the day without a bite, I should have done something different. I lost a 20″ ish and an 18″ ish as well. Like Dwain said, they were just biting weird that day. The bite was so light, and I just didn’t get them stuck good.
Heavy Hitters Standings
Three events in and there aren’t many 20s on the board, which means there is a lot of opportunity for anglers to get in the race. Everyone is 100% in the running because it is only best five fish and you have five more events to go. Here are the top 20 after three events:
Angler of the Year Race
Here are your current top 25 anglers, and there’s a long way to go in the Angler of the Year race. Several anglers are very much in it, and really almost everyone is because you can drop two events. While interesting to look at, these rankings don’t mean much at this point. But, I should point out I’m in front of Kyle Long, which does matter. 😉
Next Up
The next event is on June 1 – Black Creek Electric Beaver Lake North. Check it out and get signed up today. Time to head to our home lake for some fun tournament action.
This weekend is the NWA NSKA Road Runner, historically an event that brings in some big limits and big fish. As usual we’re doing a Road Runner preview because it is a very unique event and covers many bodies of water.
There may be something surprising in the numbers though when you look back at the past four years and which lakes have produced the biggest winning limits. We took a look at some data and examined the top 15 limits in the past four seasons. Which lake produces the most big winner winner chicken dinner limits?
The Top 15
Below is a chart showing the top 15 one-day five fish limit totals from 2018-2022. It also shows the Lake, Event, Angler and what month it took place. What do we see in this chart?
First of all, there are a few surprises in here to me. Extremely fickle Lincoln Lake has burned angler after angler on road runner day, but in 2018 Rance Richardson caught a massive 102.75″ limit on that date. The next largest one day limit of the past three years was on a lake that was not publicly identified – so no help there… Beyond that, it’s not surprising to see Siloam Springs make some appearances, but the shocking development is that Beaver Lake is on this list THREE times! Yes, the Dead Sea, Beaver Lake has produced three of the biggest winning bags in the last three years. Same for Table Rock lake which has surpassed the 88″ mark multiple times.
My 22″ from the 2020 March Road Runner from the Elk River.
Some Historical Context
A few additional pieces of history for context around this subject. As I did some research, Road Runners is the one event type where the limit totals have not skyrocketed in the past couple of years. Most other events are taking bigger and bigger limits to win, but Road Runners have actually had huge totals consistently each of the past four seasons. Speaking of Siloam City Lake…it has been pretty amazing. It has accounted for the winning total in five of the past six pure road runners. Don’t get too excited though – unless your name is Dwain Batey this may not help you much – that lake is a tough nut to crack. And this can’t hold up again, right? Table Rock has been a smash fest every time since NSKA began going there in 2021 and may be the safest bet for a decent bag and the right bite can win it. Elmdale and Lincoln are tantalizing options that have the fish that can win but have been very inconsistent.
What does it all mean?
This tells us a few things:
If you want to win, there are certain lakes not on this list you better be wary of.
Several lakes can give you a shot to win – Siloam City Lake, Beaver Lake, Lincoln and Table Rock are all in bounds and have produced giant limits at least once. (as has Lake X, but shhh)
It’s going to take 91+ to win. The last five pure Road Runners in NWA have been won with at least 91.5″ and four at 93″ or more.
Finally, no individual angler dominates this top 15 list. A few have multiple listings, but nobody has more than three. It’s anybody’s ballgame – don’t think otherwise!
Have Fun, Go Fishing
Everyone have a good time this weekend. As much as I hate road runners, it is a chance to spend the day fishing where you want to and fishing how you want to. That’s a great day. Have fun, be safe and swing for the fences!
When the winter storm hit I spent some time shopping for tackle online. Two weeks later when the box arrived, I had completely forgotten what I ordered! So, thought it might be fun to open it up on camera and talk about whatever pre-spawn baits were in the box. Check it out!
The 2020 NSKA NWA RoadRunner was one to remember for a few reasons. First, an expanded radius of 60 miles from Siloam Springs put more water in play than ever for a road runner. Secondly, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and social distancing there was no captain’s meeting and no weigh-in get together. Finally, it will be remembered as a day where some big fish totals and giant bass were put in the kayak!
Tournament Results
My 22″ bass was only good for 2nd place Big Bass. Caught on a Norman Middle N.
Overall the road runner kept true to form by producing some big limits and a large number of fish submitted. What didn’t hold was involvement of the usual big fish destinations in the standings, with Elmdale, Siloam Springs City Lake and Lincoln Lake not making the top three. A really strong 41% of the field turned in a limit and an outstanding 77% of the field turned in fish, however, these totals are a step back from 2019 which were 52% and 83% respectively.
Justin Brewer dropped the hammer early in the day and took first place with 94.25″, followed by Devin Mathews with 90.5″ in second and Roy Roberts in third with 88″ on the day. Finishers fourth through ten were: Dwain Batey, Jason Ray, Cole Sikes, Devon Esry, Michael Burgess, Chris Needham and Kyle Fields. Check out all of the results on TourneyX.
Big Bass was a MONSTER
Angler Jason Coleman won Big Bass with a 22.75″ pig (that was really bigger but had a mouth open deduction) and beat out my 22″ 2nd place Big Bass. His story is too good not to share and I’m sure we all can identify with how he felt when he got it in the kayak:
“I was planning to fish Tenkiller for this event and drove over to OK Saturday afternoon to camp near the lake. I didn’t realize that Tenkiller was washed out and most of the launch sites were closed. I drove all the way around the lake and it was a mess and lake looked like chocolate milk and there was debris everywhere. I wasn’t feeling it so I ended up driving back to Bentonville…Glad I did! It wasn’t until about 9:00 Saturday night that I decided where I was going to go. I got on Google Earth and picked a place that I had fished near before. I felt wanted to get away from crowds and go somewhere that had quick limit potential. Big bass was not even on my radar in the area…I was fishing near Holiday Island. I was lucky to catch a small limit by 8:00 on a Green Pumpkin Strike King Shim E Stick. After I had five keepers, I switched to a White and Chartreuse Strike King Thunder Cricket (available at WM store 100 in Bentonville)! I was planning to fish the Cricket for a while and try and cull a few.
22.75″ scored Big Bass caught by Jason Coleman near Holiday Island would have gone 23″+ if the mouth deduction had not been applied. Likely 10+ pounds!
Within ten casts I hooked in to the big gal! When I first hooked her I knew it was a big fish. She turned my kayak 180 degrees real quick. When I first got a glimpse I thought I had snagged a big carp. The water was stained and I’d never seen a bass that fat. When I got a second glimpse, I realized this was a TOAD! I don’t know how long I fought her, but it seemed like forever. When I got her to the boat it took me about three or four swipes to get her in the net. She was too big for it! Once I was finally able to get her nose in it I could half swing her into the boat….I was shaking for about two minutes while I left her in the net. I don’t smoke but I needed a cigarette. She was so big I was scared to take her out and try and take a pic. Once I got my phone and bump board ready I pulled her out the net and started trying to get a photo. I was shaking like a heroin addict without methadone! The first two tries she started flopping around and I had to tackle her in my chair! It was a shit show! I finally got her to calm down enough to get a few pics. They turned out be be all bad. Her mouth was wide open and she was half on and off the board in all the pics. At this point, she had been out of the water for a few minutes so I held her back in to take a few breaths.
I then went back at it again. I snapped probably ten more pics between several close call flops, but could never get her to close her lips all the way. This went on for about three or four more minutes before I decided to give up. I had her out of the water for while and I didn’t want to stress her too much. I figured I’d rather get a penalty than to see her go belly up on the release. Over the years I’ve weighed several fish in the 8’s and 9’s, but never an official 10. This gal was by far bigger than any bass I’ve put my hands on. I didn’t have a scale, but I’m pretty sure she’d hit 10 and then some…Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Angler Roundtable – How they caught ’em!
The top four anglers were good enough to stay more than six feet apart and share how they caught their limits. Check out below how Justin Brewer, Devin Mathews, Roy Roberts and Dwain Batey did their damage:
Where did you go and why did you choose to go there?
Justin – Going into this event I wanted to find a lake as far south and secluded that I could find. First, hoping the water would be warmer and maybe warm enough for fish to start the spawning process. Second, to try and avoid the 95 other anglers that would crawling all over the local lakes. I do believe I accomplished that by the fact that I didn’t have another competitor on that lake, only local traffic.
Devin – I fished elk river in Missouri, water was high and murky making it move pretty good.
Roy – I went to the east end of Eucha. I probably would have fished closer to the dam but since I don’t have an “adult sized” kayak I decided to stay on the upper end to follow all the “local rules” for Oklahoma. That probably worked out for the best. It seemed like the bite was tough everywhere I went leading up to this event so I wanted to go somewhere I would be around quality fish and Eucha has that reputation. I had not been there in a few years but had some previous experience to draw off of.
Dwain – I was unable to practice anywhere more than a couple hours at Siloam City Lake, and practicing there I managed to only catch one 15” fish. I still felt that I would be able to catch them there, with the warming trend and fishing wanting so badly to begin spawning.
What was the water temp where you were fishing and how did that affect your approach?
Justin – The water temp was actually a lot cooler than I was expecting and hoping for. Started at 60 in the morning and slowly climbed to 66 by 2 p.m. But really did not change my approach due to the cooler temps the night before I figured the surface temps would be cooler.
Devin – I don’t know, didn’t have any electronics to check the water temp.
Roy – It was 53 degrees in the morning. A little cooler than I expected. I tried to slow down and use some pauses in my retrieves to trigger strikes.
Dwain – The water temperatures were from 57 to 59 degrees, and this was really getting those male bass in the mood to move up and start making beds.
What baits or general techniques that worked for you?
Justin – With the lake still being a little flooded my main approach was to flip bushes all day because pre-fishing this lake I was able to catch 89.50″ in an hour doing this. But I did not start fishing till 10:00 that day. So when first cast rolled around I picked up a white Booyah Melee to pass the time and it just so happened to be the key bait for me catching three of my keepers at 6:43, 6:47, 6:55 then rounding out my first limit of 90.75 with one at 7:15 and 7:22. Eventually culled up later in the day.
Devin – I used moving baits all day long.
Roy – My best bites early came on a Megabass jerkbait (French Pearl) and a Jackhammer chatterbait (Black and Blue). There was some intense fishing pressure with 10-12 boats in my small area by 7:30, so I had to use some finesse tactics to finish my limit and cull a little bit.
Dwain – I caught one fish on a vibrating jig, and the rest on a weightless soft plastic bait.
Any interesting stories or tidbits you want to share from the event?
Justin – Seeing how the results turned out I could have loaded up and been headed home by 8:00 and still been alright. But I just knew that with the fisherman in this tournament and how good they were biting for me I was gonna have a lot of work to do to keep the lead.
Roy – I have a student in class who I was able to convince to fish his first kayak tournament. It was so rewarding to get to talk to him about his experience and how different this tournament was compared to a boat tournament. I challenge everyone else to find a youth angler they can encourage to join us and fish sometime.
Dwain – I had a few things happen, first off it was really slow and it took a while to boat my first fish. I got it in and thought, “I’ll use my new phone today.” So I snapped pictures of the 16.75” fish and checked to make sure they were good, let the fish go. Started to put it on TourneyX and it says it doesn’t have the location. I looked, sure enough no location, but the sunrise picture I took an hour before was fine. Go figure. Needless to say I didn’t take any chances and used my other phone the rest of the day with no issues. Second was just how the whole day went. First off, I fished Siloam City Lake, with the plan to move to Lincoln Lake at some point in the day. After that first fish that didn’t count, It was a long time before I caught another fish, and I was fishing my way back to load up when I caught my best fish at 19.25” and that made me stay until it was too late to move lakes.
After the sun came up I saw lots of beds, but no fish on them. I kept thinking that as the water warmed up it would get those fish back on those active beds, and they almost outlasted our event time. I had about an hour left when suddenly every bed seemed to have a male bass that was ready to eat on it. I got a couple of culls and missed a few fish, and then with seconds to go I missed a big one that I got to see, but I am really glad I didn’t catch it. My Dakota Lithium battery had been out a couple of trips since I charged it, so with an hour left my graph had died, so I didn’t know exactly what time it was.
As soon as I lost that fish I looked and it was 2:30 on the nose. If I had gotten that big fish in I would have been so mad that it was too late ha ha. Morals of the story: 1. Check all of your gear even your phone before you use anything in a live event. 2. Have a plan but be flexible and follow the conditions and the bass. 3. Don’t give up, it took all day to fill my limit and finally start culling.
Next NSKA Event: ONLINE Beaver Lake event in April – No AOY Points
Welcome to the 2020 NSKA Heavy Hitter Side Pot – a season-long big bass showdown combining your best five bass from the NSKA NWA tournament season.
How to join the Roster of Competitors and WIN $$
Enter the Heavy Hitter competition by sending your entry of $10 to commissioner Roy Roberts. The sooner you enter, the sooner you can start counting your big fish. Visit the Heavy Hitters PayPal pool site to register and pay your entry. Sign up at any point, but the deadline to sign up is Friday, March 27, if you want a fish from Saturday’s Siloam Springs Road Runner to count toward your total.
Your name goes on the Roster of competitors below. Results and rankings will be kept and displayed on Kayakfishingfocus.com all season long.
Compete in NSKA NWA regular season AOY events and catch big bass. your biggest fish from each regular season event can count toward your limit. There are seven eligible events and you take the best fish from five of them to create your largest limit.
Winner takes all the $$, the glory and the title of NSKA NWA Heavy Hitter Champion.
2020 Heavy Hitters
Roy Roberts
Cole Sikes
Devon Esry
Jason Kincy
Kyle Long
Tyler Zengerle
Joe Baird
David Roberds
Andrew Newsome
Alex Girenko
Kevin Tadda
Mike Fohner
Jon Wofford
Ryan Paskiewicz
Jason Adams
Jeriamy Vann
Christa Hibbs
Bo Sarratt
Michael Burgess
James Haeberle
Justin Phillips
Joshua Meyers
Jose Garcia
Jonathan Swann
Eligible Events – Your largest bass from be eligible to count toward your Heavy Hitters best five limit.
3/28 Roadrunner 5/2 Beaver 5/16 King of the String 6/6 Lake Fort Smith 6/20 Roadrunner 7/18 Beaver South 8/22 Beavertown
The winner will be announced after the 8/22 Beavertown tournament.
Winter is a great time to get out and catch some big ones. Bella Vista bass fishing can be very good in the winter time. These bass from Lake Ann and Lake Windsor in Bella Vista came in the cold days near the end of the 2018.
Norman Deep Middle N Crankbait on steep shorelines in 46 degree water caught this 20.5″ largemouth below. The bottom photo was caught from a kayak on Lake Ann off one of the windy points on a cloudy day. Give Bella Vista bass fishing a try in cold weather.
Bella Vista bass fishing was on fire during a winter day on a Norman Deep Middle N Crankbait. photo: www.kayakfishingfocus.com
Catching a 21″ while Bella Vista Bass fishing can be done in the winter months. photo: www.kayakfishingfocus.com
Anyone who fishes with me knows I’m pretty serious about my sun protection, especially in the summer. Like many anglers, I’ve been treated for skin cancer and want to avoid future issues.
Wearing the right UV protective gear is a big key to protecting your skin – especially if you are a Scottish/Irish background like I am. I don’t tan, I burn. Two of the most important tools I have in protecting myself for 8-10 hour tournament days on the water are the UV Shield Long Sleeve Performance Shirt and the UV Shield Sun Gloves from Stormr.
UV Shield Long Sleeve Performance Shirt
This is a great sun shirt for many reasons in addition to the fact it deflects dangerous UV rays. This 50+ UV shield performance shirt is comfortable and well-made. It features a double layer of material which keeps it cool but feels more substantial than other sun shirts. The collar and sleeves are very resistant to any stretching, and I like that the collar rides just a bit higher than some other sun shirts, protecting the base of my neck. Finally, there are tiny vents in the armpit areas of the shirt which help keep me cool and reduces some of the stench created after hours sweating on the water. I’ve got this shirt in white, red, blue, smoke and yellow.
UV Shield Sun Control Gloves
I’m a big proponent of sun gloves, your hands can burn and get skin cancer very easily. Having tried various types of gloves, the UV Shield Sun Control Gloves are my favorite because they come up the wrists enough to ensure they cover the gap between your shirt sleeve and wrist. I also like how thin and lightweight they are, but have a synthetic palm for added durability and a better grip when handling fish or gear. The fit is snug to the hand, which means the gloves are never in the way or cause an issue. I’ve become so accustomed to wearing these I don’t feel right when they aren’t on my hands while fishing. The only down side to these gloves is that over time some small parts of the stitching can come loose, but this is after heavy use over a long period of time.
The NSKA tournament on Lake Fort Smith for 2018 is in the books, resulting in a strong turnout on a cloudy day in the Boston Mountains. Warmer weather combined with fish moving shallow made for a day where the lake gave up a decent number of fish to the 64 anglers who took to the water.
Tournament Results
A historically stingy Lake Fort Smith was a little better this time around with 49 (77%) of anglers carding a keeper. Limits were still pretty tough to come by with only 14 (22%) of anglers turning in five keepers. Christa Hibbs won her second NSKA Lake Fort Smith tournament in a row with 81.5″, while Cole Sikes took 2nd with 73.5″ and Declan McDonald finishing 3rd with 71.5″ total. Big Bass was won by Josue Rodriguez with a 20″ Largemouth.
The top ten anglers were:
Christa Hibbs
Cole Sikes
Declan McDonald
Shane Oakes
John Evans
Craig Wood
Ryan Paskiewicz
Toby Bogart
Dwain Batey
Roy Roberts
NSKA Fort Smith Big Bass caught by Josue Rodriguez – 20″
Angler Recaps
Top finishers Christa Hibbs, Cole Sikes, Declan McDonald and Shane Oakes share what worked for them and how they got results on the tricky Lake Fort Smith:
In general what part of the lake did you fish?
Christa – I fished mainly the upper part of the lake the majority of the day.
Cole – I primarily fished Shepherd Springs but did dabble in the mid-lake area.
Declan – I started my day on the north end of the lake I wasn’t getting bit there so I moved to the south end towards the dam and fish there the rest of the day.
Shane – I fished the upper end creek and creek channel. I selected this area because it best suits my style of fishing, which is some current along with a channel that has various types of structure and depth. With the water temperature around 56-57 degrees I figured some bigger fish could possibly be hanging out on structure along the mouth of the creek.
What were the main baits that worked for you?
Christa – The baits that worked for me were a topwater early in the morning and a small crankbait throughout the rest of the day.
Cole – All but one of my fish came on a jig by our sponsor Slowtown Custom Lures. My one other fish came on a red squarebill.
Declan – I threw a ned rig most of the day just popping it off the bottom hoping to get it in front of fish so they would bite.
Shane – I used some typical pre-spawn/spawn baits in that they were big bodied dark colored baits that big females do not want near their beds. Unfortunately, I mostly came across small males.
Any particular approach or strategy you wanted to employ to try to win?
Christa – My main approach was to find where the fish were holding and adjust to them. I wasn’t able to pre-fish prior to the tournament to try and search. Once I found some I noticed they were full of eggs and found a 100 yard stretch of bank that I picked through for a few hours to pull my keeper fish out of.
Cole – My main approach to the tournament was to try and capitalize early. The lake is decent in size but I knew the banks would get pressured quickly so catching as many as you could early would help. Also, I focused on the west side of Sheppard Springs because it had less blown up debris from the recent heavy rains.
Declan – My main strategy was to go out and throw my confidence baits and I knew the muddy water would only hurt, so I just tried to stay confident and cover the same spot 2 or 3 times.
Shane – As all of those who were at the final weigh-in now know, and much to the displeasure of one competitor in particular, my approach was to launch from a [very] public access point in the upper end of the creek in order to get a jump on the competition. With almost 60 competitors on this body of water I felt getting a limit as early as possible was going to be the key. From there I could focus on culling. For the most part this worked out, except that I was culling 12 inch fish with 12.5 and 12.75 inch fish and simply couldn’t find the bigger ones.
What do you think the key was to your overall success?
Christa – The key to my overall success was being able to adjust to the fish throughout the day. My topwater bite died once the wind picked up. Next I picked up the small squarebill and they were wanting it ripped through the wood and rock with a pause. My biggest fish reacted best with a fast retrieve and with the bait deflecting off of the rock and wood.
Cole – My key for overall success was to “fish slow, fast”. When I know they are shallow and tight to cover, I try to make as many cast by the cover and only move jig a few times before making my next cast. Typically the fish will hit my jig within the first couple of seconds. Also, I finished out my limit around 1:30 with 66” and knew I would need a kicker to have a chance to win. Most of the anglers were working their way back to the ramp so I took advantage of that and headed the opposite direction to less pressured water. I found some good spawning pockets earlier in the day and fished those for a kicker. I flipped my jig into a tight-narrow opening of the log jam and hooked into the 19 inch kicker. She took me under the logs and I had to keep my line tight and work my kayak back to get to her. Luckily for me she stayed pegged and I was able scoop her in the net. Little did I know I needed two more kickers to catch up to Christa! Congratulations Christa Hibbs!
Declan – I think the key to my success was my confidence, going into this tournament I knew from previous events that it was going to be a finesse bite and I felt that I could catch a limit.
Shane – With as tough as this lake has been on all of us over the last several years I wouldn’t say any of us had an edge, except maybe one lady angler. I simply like this lake and have a lot of confidence when we come here because of the many memories made as kid, fishing it with my best friend when it was known as Lake Shepherd Springs.
